Tranquil Waters

Waking up on Saturday to find the cool change had arrived we decided it was time to explore some new territory, so we drove down to Yarra Bend Park and spent the day wandering along beside the peaceful waters of the Yarra River. The park is an area of land set aside since the times of the first European settlers and is now the largest remaining area of natural bushland in inner Melbourne. The Yarra River winds its way through the park for 12 kms and even though you are only a few kms from the city there is a feeling of total seclusion and isolation from the hustle & bustle.

The park is also home to the Studley Park Boathouse and this is where we started and finished our day, first of all having lunch by the river and a nice cold drink at the conclusion of our big day out. The boathouse was built in 1863 and is the oldest public boathouse on the Yarra river and with a fine dining restaraunt, a cafe & kiosk together with the adjoining picnic areas it is easy to understand why it is as popular today as it would have been way back when. You can hire row boats, canoes & kayaks from the kiosk and it was fun watching all the different people trying to master the craft they had chosen. We saw a few bumps but no-one fell in so I guess they did all right. No we didn't give it a go, we were on a mission to walk.

After lunch we followed one of the walk trails over the Historic Kanes Bridge and walked along the river around to Dights Falls & Merri Creek. We stopped for a while at Deep Rock, an area where swimming races used to be held in the early 1900's. While there we were captivated by the Bellbirds. We couldn't see them but their constant tinkling calls made us well aware of their presence. This was the only place that we could hear them. So with a bit of exercise and loads of peace & tranquility we had a great day and have have found another beautiful spot that I imagine will have lots of repeat visits.

For a change of pace we decided to check out Docklands for dinner and managed to find a table in Man Mo, a very nice Chinese/Malaysian restaurant on the waterfront. So after some good food and a nice bottle of Red to finish our day it was 2 weary adventurers that hit the hay for a good nights sleep.

The adventures continued on Sunday but I'll leave that until next time.......